New Zealand could pay for a battlecruiser without funding the crew and continuing logistical support. The Royal Navy would meet those operating costs, while the ship provided protection and an imperial naval contribution. In that arrangement, buying a more powerful ship would not place the full cost of a larger naval establishment on New Zealand. HMS New Zealand is also introduced through her reputation for exceptional wartime luck and the ceremonial skirt worn by her captain. Australia and New Zealand together added two ships to the British Empire's 1909 battlecruiser orders.
Chapter · 42:30-47:23
HMS New Zealand, range, and Dominion funding
New Zealand's capital contribution bought the empire another battlecruiser while Britain absorbed its personnel and operating costs.